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Jake Ludington's Digital Lifestyle brings you the latest tips for maximizing productivity, simplifying digital video and audio frustrations, and solving computer problems.

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Audio and Video Questions and Answers

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"I just got a DVD drive for my computer. I have Windows XP and I can't get Windows Media Player to play any of my DVDs. What do I need to do to enable DVD playing in Windows Media Player?"

Windows Media Player requires a specific codec pack to be installed on your computer in order for DVD playback to work. There are several companies that offer this type of codec pack for sale.

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"I purchased about 300 songs from iTunes. I just got a new Zune MP3 Player and I can't figure out how to get my iTunes songs on my Zune. I really don't want to have to buy all these songs again."

Unless you purchased songs from iTunes very recently as iTunes Plus files, your iTunes music purchases are locked down to only work with iTunes, an iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. There are basically two ways to solve your problem - you can burn audio CDs of all your iTunes purchases and re-rip them using the Zune software, or you can get some help from software that simulates CD burning. Burning CDs can take an extremely long time, while using software works very quickly.

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"I installed a DVD burner to replace my old CD burner (which was not removed from the tower). Why is it when I want to burn CDs, both Windows and Nero chooses my old burner for the process instead of the new DVD burner? How do I fix this?"

The why part is slightly different depending on whether you are using Windows XP or Windows Vista when you burn DVDs and CDs. Vista actually has a drive properties setting that allows you to choose a default burner. Assuming the programs you use respect this setting, the burner you choose should always be the default. Windows XP defaults to using the burner with the drive letter closest to the beginning of the alphabet as do many programs. Depending on which problem you have, the solution is slightly different.

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"Where can I convert wmv to mp4 without downloading the converter?"

There are a number of online conversion tools that allow you to upload your video to their service, choose a format, and get an email with a link to download the converted file. I tend to find these services more frustrating than using a local conversion application, because you don't get the same granularity of control from an online service that you get from something installed locally. Still, the convenience of uploading to a service can't be overlooked. I've tried several different online converters and there is only one clear winner.

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"My computer only has a VGA connection for video, is there anything I can use to go from VGA to HDMI for my HDTV?"

I'd typically suggesting purchasing a video card with DVI-out, rather than using your current VGA card, in part because the new video card will very likely also have additional video RAM, as well as being able to support native HD resolutions, but if you really need a VGA to HDMI adapter, such components do exist. My favorite source for HDMI cables and other cabling needs, Monoprice, is a good place to get what you are looking for.

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"I bought a 64-bit computer with Windows XP 32-bit installed. Now I want to upgrade from 32-bit Windows XP to 64-bit Vista. I have tons of applications on here and I'd rather not wipe my hard drive and start over. Is it possible to do the upgrade or do I need to do a clean install of Windows Vista 64?"

Under most circumstances, this is the type of upgrade I'd never do. Too many potential headaches are likely going from Windows XP to Windows Vista in general. Switching to 64-bit compounds the possible problems. xyHD.tv has a straightforward tutorial on upgrading XP 32-but to Vista-64, with the catch that you probably want to install Vista 32 before you go all the way. Most important part of the process - backup your files before you begin. A good rule of thumb in any operating system install, but especially important when you're attempting something like this. Follow the steps to upgrade from 32-bit Windows XP to Vista 64-bit at xyHD.tv.

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"How can I upload photos from iPhoto to my Flickr account on my Mac?"

There are several ways you can upload photos to Flickr from iPhoto, although several of them are convoluted. One way is to export photos from iPhoto to a folder on your Mac and then use the Flickr upload page to individually select each photo. Flickr recommends a $15 utility to automate the process, but you don't need to pay anything. There is a great free way to upload photos to Flickr automatically without ever leaving iPhoto.

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